Taco Milagro to Close May 26

After 15 years at the corner of Westheimer and Kirby, Mexican restaurant Taco Milagro will close on May 26. In a statement released today, Candice Schiller, a partner in the Schiller Del Grande Group that owns the restaurant, said "A lot has happened to Kirby in the past decade. It has become a street of upscale restaurants. Our little counter service Taco shop can't pay those kinds of rents." It's the second high-profile setback for the Schiller Del Grande group on this corner; they closed Ava and Alto in the West Ave development last year.

Perhaps the closure is part of a trend of long-established Tex-Mex restaurants packing up shop. As noted by CultureMap, Taco Milagro follows recent closing by Boccados and Cafe Adobe. As with those other two, Schiller says Taco Milagro is "looking for a new (location) somewhere a bit further out."

Meanwhile, newer concepts such as El Gran Malo, Cyclone Anaya's (a modern revival of an old name) and Pistolero's show that there's still an appetite for this style of food. Maybe just not in the form that the shuttered restaurants offered it. Or maybe the food is still delicious, and they're all victims of Houston's booming real estate market. Success at new locations will be the key to know whether it's one or the other.

· Taco Milagro [Official]
· Another in-town Mexican restaurant announces closing after 15 years in business [CultureMap]
· Carnage on Kirby: Maggie Rita's and Alto Both Closed [-EHOU-]
· Ava Closing at West Ave [-EHOU-]
· All The Shutter on Eater Houston [-EHOU-]